Wolverine: Switchback

Writers: Joseph Clark, Gregg Hurwitz
Artist: Das Pastoras, Juan Doe
Publisher: Marvel
Published: March 2009

Wolverine is one of my favorite Marvel characters, but it can be tough to follow all his comics. As a compromise, I try and pick up a few one shots. Luckily, a buddy of mine turned me onto this issue. Switchback has 2 tales. The first one involves Wolverine taking a side trip on his journey to solve a mystery. The second has Wolverine getting beat up. It's called Punching Bag.

The first tale makes this comic worth picking up. The art reminds me a of a warped Norman Rockwell. I'm probably way off with that remark, but it's the first thing that comes to mind. As for the story, it's short, straightforward, sans super villains, and has a satisfying conclusion involving Wolvie getting beat up real bad, and then killing the bad guy. Which is exactly what I want in a Wolvie story.

Fantastic Four: Ilsla De La Muerte!

Writer: Tom Beland
Artist: Juan Doe
Publisher: Marvel
Published: February 2008

The FF delivers in this issue!

Ben Grimm takes a 3 day vacation every year and he never tells anyone where he goes. Of course, this annoys Johnny to no end. Once Ben is gone, Johnny persuades Sue to pester Richard to find out where he goes. Turns out Ben goes to Puerto Rico every year. The remaining FF crash his vacation, much to Things chagrin. Too bad for Ben, not only does he have to deal with the invasive FF, but the mysterious El Chupacabras have returned to Puerto Rico to claim what is theirs.

Oh, and Mole Man is involved. I have only a handful of Fantastic Four comics and at least half of them have the damn Mole Man. I can't seem to get away from the guy!

This was a great issue though, even if it has the Mole Man. The art was *ahem* fantastic, and all the characters mannerisms were dead on. Plus, this was a Ben Grim comic, so it got into that whole 'being accepted' thing, and even manages to mention the other quintessential Ben Grimm issue "This Man...This Monster." What a great issue.

Joker's Asylum: Dark Knight of the Scarecrow

Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Juan Doe
Publisher: DC
Published: July 2008

When the Dark Knight hit theaters, so did Joker's Asylum, and just like theater patrons got caught up in Ledgers Joker, so did I get caught in DC Joker's Asylum. My favorite so far has been Scarecrow's story.

The story is like a teenage horror slasher film, with a group of teenage kids planning to play a evil trick on the 'unpopular' kid. The unpopular kid just so happens to visit a psychiatrist, who also just so happens to be Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow). The story unfolds like a bad nightmare, with the popular kids getting more than their just desserts.

What a liked most about this issue was the fact that though Jonathan Crane is an evil man, on the surface, he was doing a kind thing by helping out his patient. We've all been to high school, and have been unwittingly caught up in the popularity game. At one point or another, we've all been on the shitty end of the school popularity spectrum, so to see some vengeance exacted out on the popular kids does bring some ounce of joy, but at the same time, what Crane does is still wrong. This feeling is the same feeling I get every time I watch Dexter.

Here's a guy who is a serial killer, but because he kills evil people, is what he does justified?
Short answer: no.
Long and complicated answer that satisfies our human need for vengeance and revenge: yes.

So I can't justify what Crane does in this issue, but I can certainly enjoy the hell out of it from a base level.